Shortly after turning 25, Samuel F. Campbell lost his eyesight, but not his desire to raise a family and succeed in business.

The owner and operator of snack bars in government facilities around Pittsburgh for 28 years, Mr. Campbell of Moon died Monday of heart failure at 79.

"Nothing got my dad down," said his son, Samuel of Lancaster, Pa. "He was such an upbeat guy that his friends brought their problems to him."

Although a series of health problems had dogged Mr. Campbell for the past 10 years, he remained active in Sharon Community Presbyterian Church in Moon, Masonic Lodge 674, the Shriners, a senior men's club at the YMCA and AARP.

"Mr. Campbell was a member of the church for more than 40 years," said the Rev. Roger Howard. "He served the church very well as an elder and attended worship almost every week. He was a real example of Christian strength."

Mr. Campbell owned combination cafes and newsstands at the Air Force Reserve's 911th Tactical Airlift Group in Moon and the State Office and the William S. Moorhead Federal buildings, Downtown, retiring in 1994.

"Despite his handicap, Mr. Campbell was a very lively guy," said Mr. Howard. "He would get to Bible study at 6 a.m. and make most of the family events at the church.

"Everybody knew him for his corny jokes and his lively ways," he continued, "but he was a very gentle soul, meek in the biblical sense of the word."

His son said that Mr. Campbell's vision began to fail after he was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1950.

"My dad was first in his class at culinary school at Fort Meade," the younger Mr. Campbell said, "and he stayed a fantastic cook all his life."

Working days in a metal factory and attending the then Robert Morris Business School, Mr. Campbell was studying to be a certified public accountant after graduation when an operation in 1954 failed to save his vision.

"Nothing got my dad down, though," said his son. Mr. Campbell then enrolled in the state's Blind Merchants Guild, which trained the blind to operate businesses in government facilities.

The program was created by the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act designed to offer them business opportunities.

Mr. Campbell first ran a snack bar at a private company in Indiana, Pa., before taking over the food service at the air base in 1966, said his son.

Mr. Campbell, a native of Verona, had mastered his handicap so well that he would take his son Christmas shopping in Downtown Pittsburgh.

"He had the whole Downtown memorized," the son said. "We would get off the bus and Dad would tell me which way to go. He was so good, he gave other people directions."

In addition to his son, Mr. Campbell's survivors include his widow, Betty June, and a daughter, Rebecca Laffey, of Crescent; a brother, Robert, of Oakmont; and two grandchildren.

Services will be 11 a.m. today at Sharon Community Presbyterian Church, 522 Carnot Road, Moon. Burial will follow in Sharon Cemetery.